Friends of the Earth's forest collective organised a massive day of action for National Threatened Species Day last week, on 7 September.
Our forest campaign released the Lawless Logging report with Goongerah Environment Centre and Fauna and Flora Research Collective documenting 27 cases of logging in Victoria that breached environmental protections for threatened wildlife and rainforest over the last three years.
FoE mobilised dozens of forest activists and coordinated with forest groups across Victoria to hold actions throughout the city highlighting the report’s findings and recommendations.
- Banners were dropped over busy highways early in the morning and afternoon.
- Street teams handed out leaflets to hundreds of commuters at train stations in Brunswick, Richmond, Clifton Hill, Preston, Monbulk, Caulfield and other locations.
- The Lawless Logging report was delivered to the offices of the Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio, Treasurer Tim Pallas, Richard Wynne MP, James Merlino MP, Vicki Ward MP, Wade Noonan MP, Martin Foley MP, Michael Danby MP (Fed), Premier Daniel Andrews and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, with further deliveries to be made the following day to Jane Garrett MP and Robin Scott MP. Posters, banners and signs were displayed at their offices and passers by given information.
- Giant Greater Glider, Sooty Owl and Leadbeater's Possum and friends roamed the CBD and had hundreds of conversations with passers by who joined in for photos and social media.
- A film by the Environmental Media Foundation showing graphic images of logging was run on the big screen at Federation Square throughout the day and will continue to be shown over the coming month.
- All together, 7000 leaflets informing voters about the Lawless Logging report were distributed in key electorates.
- Over 400 emails were sent to the Environment Minister asking her to stop lawless logging, protect threatened wildlife and prosecute VicForests for breaches to regulations.
- After all that, at the end of the day in stormy weather, 150 people gathered on the steps of Parliament calling on the Labor government to protect threatened wildlife from logging and unfurling a giant scroll detailing the extent of lawless logging in Victoria.
Following these actions, the Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio has requested a meeting to be briefed on the Lawless Logging report and The Age newspaper wrote a great story about the report's findings and recommendations.
You can take action to email Environment Minster Lily D'Ambrosio, calling on her to act on the report's recommendations.
Over 400 emails sent in the last few days, send your email here.
There was an amazing stream of tweets on the #ThreatenedSpeciesDay hashtag check some out of them below.
What a fantastic effort by the FoE Collective crew in organising and pulling off this massive day of action! Big congratulations to all involved.
Want to get involved with the Friends of the Earth Forest campaign and join in on the next action?
